Malisse/Russell upset Delgado/Skupski to enter semis – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Belgian-American tandem, Xavier Malisse and Michael Russell, stunned the fourth seeded Britons, Jamie Delgado and Ken Skupski, in straight sets at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Thursday. They registered a 7-6(0), 6-4 victory against their seeded opponents
to cruise into the quarter-finals at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place in Johns Creek, Georgia.
The inform Belgian-American team displayed superb co-ordination to outclass Delgado and Skupski in their first meeting. After stealing the limelight in one hour and 17 minutes, the Belgian-American tandem assertively advanced into the final eight at this
ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place from 14th to 22nd July.
Malisse and Russell high-spiritedly entered the Atlantic Station and plucked their opening serves in the second game. They held their remaining serves until they drew the first blood in the ninth game and took a 5-4 lead. Despite losing their edge in the
very next game, the Belgian-American pair took the set to a tie-breaker and subsequently clinched the opener with a 7-6(0) score line.
The high flying underdogs kept momentum rolling in the following set and held their opening serve to take the initial lead. They dusted away all four breakpoints they came across and swiped their entire serves with conviction. Malisse and Russell got the
breakthrough in the last game and pocketed the set with a 6-4 win.
Summing up performance of the unseeded team, Malisse and Russell clobbered a lower first serve share of 52 per cent as compared to their rival’s 67 per cent but impressively marked 28 out of 35 points on it. They spilled five double faults but covered it
up by hitting eight aces.
Next up for the Belgian-American pair is the conqueror of the match between Australian duo, Colin Ebelthite and Marinko Matosevic, and the South African-American duo, Raven Klaasen and Donald Young.
The top seeded Brits, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, also earned the spotlight later that day. They clobbered a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory against the Czech-French team, Lukas Dlouhy and Nicolas Mahut, in one hour and 19 minutes. They lost their serve twice but
cashed in four out of six break chances to bag the match.
Tags: